Many conventional electronic mail (“e-mail”) systems enable users to store a plurality of e-mail addresses in an “address book” (or directory) together with a corresponding name for each e-mail address listed. In this regard, when composing an e-mail message to one or more individuals, a user may select the name or names of intended recipients from the address book without having to input their entire e-mail address.
Although many users may realize a time-saving benefit from address book features when addressing e-mail messages, the process of actually storing names and corresponding e-mail addresses into address books of current e-mail systems can be quite time-consuming. For example, many address books (of current e-mail systems) require users to manually enter the name and e-mail address for each individual, which may be tedious if a user has numerous names and e-mail addresses to input and store.
Alternatively, some e-mail systems enable a user to select (e.g., “right-click” on) a single e-mail address in an address field (e.g., “From,” “To,” “Cc,” “Bcc”) of an e-mail message and then further select to have that address added to his or her address book. While this process may be somewhat quicker than manually entering names and e-mail addresses, it still relies on a user having to select each individual e-mail address, one at a time, for storage in an address book.
Another drawback associated with current e-mail systems is the apparent lack of “auto-complete” capabilities for automatically completing a name and/or e-mail address that a user has begun to type, particularly if the name or e-mail address is not stored in their address book.
Still yet another disadvantage of many current e-mail systems is that user address books are often stored on a central server. This may prevent users from accessing their address book if they failed to download their address book (to their remote client terminal) prior to commencing work off-line. These and other drawbacks exist.